After a few years as the new kids on the block, Mattapoisett’s Fleet 76 took second, fourth, sixth and seventh place in the Ensign class at the 2014 Newport Regatta. Now, they’re out to prove that they’re ready to host a national championship.

Fleet 76 member Tina Clark described Ensign sailboats, originally built in the 1950s, as “family friendly” sailing boats. Clark and her husband, Stephen, have sailed for two decades, but took up the Ensign class more recently.

“It’s a relatively cheap boat to race, but can be very competitive, too,” said Clark.

The Mattapoisett Ensign fleet began a few years ago and currently has 10 boats.

Six competed in the recent 2014 Newport Regatta, a regional competition.

“Mattapoisett’s group is actually one of the fastest growing fleets in the area,” Clark said. “The group from Mattapoisett was hoping to show the Ensign class that we might be new to this organization, but as a group we are all improving and can be a threat to some of the old timers.”

Fleet 76 did just that. In their boat, “Brou Ha Ha,” the Clarks and two additional crewmembers took home fourth place. The “Odyssey,” captained by Rick Warren, came in second. Captain John Mello took sixth place in “One Love.” “Black Ice,” captained by Phil Warren, took seventh place.

In their first regional regatta, Kai Srisirkul of “Not Trying” and Jason Dubreuil of “Hydra” took 14^th and 15^th place, respectively.

“This is only the second year in which local boats actually traveled outside the harbor to compete in regional events,” said Clark.

Three years ago, the regional race came to Mattapoisett, “and we got our butts kicked,” joked Clark. Last year, three boats went to a regional race in Connecticut where “we minimally got our butts kicked,” she said. “It’s all experience and getting better at all those events.”

The sailors of Fleet 76 have worked to hone their skills through weekly races in Mattapoisett Harbor. Every Tuesday night in summer months the boats do one to two mile races, usually with teams of four on each rig.

Clark said two of her former crewmembers enjoyed Ensigns so much they got their own boats and joined the fleet. She hopes more interested folks in the area will do the same.

The Fleet has proved its ability to contend with more experienced racers and that it has staying power. As such, Mattapoisett was chosen to host the National Ensign Regatta in the summer of 2016. Clark said the more people they can get on board the better.

“We’d like to get more people involved,” she said. “A lot of us are looking for people who want to learn about racing to join with us.”

For more information on Fleet 76, email Tina Clark at stephentinaclark@verizon.net.